May 4th Star Wars Film Sound Design Asbjoern Andersen


As we once again celebrate May 4th, we've gathered a huge number of stories behind the iconic sounds of the Star Wars franchise for you - feast your ears below, and Happy Star Wars Day!
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The sound of Andor:

 
The Andor series will explore a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved. It’s an era filled with danger, deception, and intrigue where Cassian will embark on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.

Watch the video here:



The Sound of Andor - Season 1 with David Acord, Margit Pfeiffer and John Gilroy



 

Much more on the superb sound of Star Wars
– hand-picked stories and interviews:

 

Behind the sound of Obi-Wan Kenobi – told by Bonnie Wild, Julian Howarth, and Danielle Dupre:

 
 




Creating the score for Obi-Wan Kenobi, with composer Natalie Holt:

 
 
So thrilled to be welcoming Natalie Holt back to Soundtracking – a composer who’s doing great things, most recently in providing the score for Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney +.

Here she tells Edith about adding to the legendary musical landscape of the franchise, and meeting the man who’s behind much of it, her idol John Williams.

Hear the interview here – starts at 3:34:


Skywalker Sound: Behind The Mac

 

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E99Et5mzxv0

 

The Sound Of The Mandalorian – with Bonnie Wild:

 
In this great interview by the Dolby Institute and the Soundworks Collection, Bonnie Wild – sound effects editor and re-recording mixer of Disney+’s hit show The Mandalorian – takes us behind the scenes for a conversation about achieving cinematic scale and production value on a television budget, balancing the palette of new sound creation with classic Star Wars sounds we all know and love, why mixing in a home theater environment was important for the show, and how to do a Jawa loop group session:



The Sound Of The Mandalorian | Dolby Institute Podcast


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Rare footage: Behind the sound of Empire Strikes Back here:

 



The Empire Strikes Back: Behind the Scenes - SOUNDS OF EMPIRE (Rare Footage 1979)


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How The Mandalorian Score Found The New Star Wars Sound:

Get the story behind Ludwig Görransson’s score for The Mandalorian:



How 'The Mandalorian' Score Found The New 'Star Wars' Sound


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Behind the sound for Return of the Jedi – with Ben Burtt:

Check out Mike James Gallagher’s great feature on the sound of Return of the Jedi – with Ben Burtt:



Star Wars: Return of the Jedi sound design explained by Ben Burtt


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Twenty Thousand Hertz special – the sound of Star Wars:

In this episode from Audio Podcast Alliance member Twenty Thousand Hertz, the team explores how Ben Burtt created the sonic universe of Star Wars from scratch, one sound at a time – featuring Marshall McGee:


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ABC’s fantastic Force of Sound documentary:

Go behind the sound of Star Wars in ABC’s fantastic documentary below:

May The 4th: Celebrating the iconic sounds of Star Wars:
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Audio interviews:

 
In this Soundworks Collection interview, supervising sound editors Matthew Wood and David Acord delve into the conceptual and sonic intricacies of evolving “force lightning,” and about working in stages from temp mixes to the final mix in a film with a legacy. They share experiences working playfully and dynamically with director J.J. Abrams, recording lines in actor Adam Driver’s closet, and working on previous Star Wars films.


Matthew Wood and David Acord, co-sound supervisors on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, have been working on the sound of the SW films for nearly two decades. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation on the audio restorations of the original films, the voice of Baby Yoda from The Mandalorian, the importance of sound to George Lucas… and even the controversy about whether Han or Greedo shot first and the notorious “Maclunkey.”
 



Conversations With Sound Artists: Star Wars | Podcast | Dolby


(via @Soundworks)

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Ben Burtt, on the sound of Star Wars:

Mike James Gallagher has released this brilliant educational video with commentary by legendary sound designer Ben Burtt, giving you the interesting stories behind the making of the Star Wars: A New Hope sound design:

Watch the video here:



Star Wars: A New Hope sound design explained by Ben Burtt


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Shaping the satisfying sound of ‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’



How Respawn Entertainment’s sound team designed their first Star Wars game — Jedi: Fallen Order:
 
Read the story here

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Sound highlight - article continues below:

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Search for more sci-fi sound libraries

 

Go behind the sound of Rogue One here:

Get the story behind he sound for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in this in-depth feature:



Sound Design for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story


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Hear the Rise of Skywalker score here:

Here’s legendary composer John Williams on creating the score for Rise of Skywalker:



John Williams on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Score


Hear the full score below, via Spotify:

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Behind the Audio of the Heroes of Star Wars Battlefront II:

EA Dice’s Philip Eriksson shows how the audio team at DICE unified the sound experiences from all eras of Star Wars into one soundscape for Star Wars Battlefront II:



Behind the Audio of the Heroes of Star Wars Battlefront II


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